Emerging Nurse Leader

A leadership development blog

Providing Nurses with Psychological Body Armor in this Crisis

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN The nursing stories from the front-lines of care in COVID-19 hot spots are grim.  Even the most seasoned critical care and emergency department nurses are struggling with the acuity/volume of patients and personal fear for their own safety and that of their families.  Many have said that what they are seeing seems unimaginable in a … [Read more...]

Working without a Playbook

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN During this week, I have had the opportunity to talk with many nurse leaders.  The theme that I hear over and over is how they are working without a playbook on this crisis.  Health systems have rehearsed for natural disasters, for mass shootings and airline crashes but very few have run a simulation in advance for a … [Read more...]

When Nurses Become the Story

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN This has been a very challenging week for nurses and nurse leaders at the epicenters of the pandemic. We have seen images of nurses expressing their fear about a lack of protective equipment and concern about just how virulent the virus can be.  I have read many accounts from the families of hospitalized patients who talk about … [Read more...]

Avoiding a Status Quo Bias in Times of Crisis

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA, BC Times of crisis provide an opportunity to test the biases in our thinking.  A status quo bias is a preference to keep current practices as they are versus a willingness to think outside the box.  A large body of evidence shows that status quo bias frequently affects human decision-making even when under enormous pressure.  We love … [Read more...]

Shining the Light on all the Right

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN                 We are in very challenging times right now. Winston Churchill once noted that no crisis should go to waste.  I thought about this as I read Bonnie and Mark Barnes's new book Shining the Light on all the Right: Celebrating the Art of Nursing Around the … [Read more...]